Sweet Dreams
by Steph-Schell
Summary: Agatha can't sleep. Dracula helps her.


She should be sleeping. Her bedfellow was sleeping soundly at her side but Agatha couldn't make her head quiet down. And her lack of feeling in her legs and most of her torso meant she couldn't even get up and go somewhere to calm her thoughts. It was making her very restless.

"You are thinking very loudly," Dracula said, not opening his eyes.

"I shall do my best to be quieter about it then," she replied.

He sighed and opened his eyes. "I'm never going to sleep when you're like this. What's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"Very much the fact that I'm not pretty," Agatha told him. Dracula raised an eyebrow. "Do you remember our chess game?"

"The one we played when I was feeding on you?" Agatha nodded. "Yes, I remember it. You lost. What about it?"

"Do you remember what you said while we played?"

"Sunshine, it's very early. Don't be cryptic this early."

Agatha made a noise in the back of her throat. She wanted to come to this slowly. But she knew he would only push until she spoke her thoughts. "You said you adore youth and beauty."

"I seem to recall this, yes. But again, I feel we're circling the point and not getting to it."

"I'm not so young anymore. I'll stay this age forever likely but I wasn't young when you turned me. And I'm hardly beautiful."

Dracula frowned. "Youth is fun for a time but I also recall saying that after 400 years it was nice to be understood. And it is. The young don't understand. Besides, who said you weren't beautiful?"

"My nose is too long. And my front teeth are too large."

"I don't know about too large, but they do stick out sometimes. Not often. Just when you're not paying attention and your jaw goes slack."

"Well I'm going to be more careful about that from now," she huffed. They both fell silent while Dracula worked up what he should say to calm her. "Do you know why I went into the convent?"

"The story in your blood but I can't seem to remember it right now."

"I was one of three. I had a twin brother, Abraham. Zoe's ancestor." Dracula nodded once more. "And a younger sister. She was…stunning. Pale skin and bright blue eyes. But you know the rules of the time. The younger sister couldn't marry before the older one. Not only was I ugly, I was smart. My intelligence could have been forgiven if I had been pretty. As it was, my father sent me to a convent so he could marry sister off to any of the dozens of men that wanted her."

"There is nothing wrong with your intelligence and damn anyone who says otherwise."

"I'm certainly no Lucy."

"Please don't tell me you're comparing yourself to a 22 year old who had the emotional depth of a teaspoon."

"Maybe I am." Agatha rubbed at her eyes. "I'm tired. Let's leave it for now."

"No, we are not leaving this," Dracula said firmly. "Not until I make you understand how ridiculous all of this is."

"I don't want to discuss this anymore," Agatha frowned.

"Are you saying that because you actually want to sleep or because you're afraid of what I might say to you?" Agatha look down at the space between them. Not wanting to meet Dracula's all-knowing eyes. "Agatha, I think we both know how quickly things like youth and beauty can fade. I don't care how long your nose is or that your teeth sometimes stick out. In 500 years, you were the first person to understand me. To see past the veneer of the gentleman, past the fangs of the monster and right through the human all the way underneath." He reached up from under the blankets to cup her cheek. "You pulled my shame up into the light and made me look it in the face. You gave me back the sunlight and in so doing gave me back myself. Nothing and no one will ever compare to you my sun. I thought I knew what power was in my long unlife. But you had more strength in your dying breathes than I had from the moment I was turned. Agatha, what I feel for you is more than love. It's…it's the merging of souls. Do you understand?"

"It's hard to fight a lifetime of expectations," Agatha replied softly, tears in her eyes.

"Then I shall simply have to give you several lifetimes of new expectations," Dracula told her. "And for the record, your father was an idiot for sending you to the convent. You're very lovely and your intelligence is an asset, never a burden." He leaned down to kiss her. "I would never lie to you, sunshine. I love every part of you. Even your stubbornness."

"I love you too," Agatha smiled. "Even your pride and ego."

He brushed some hair away from her face. "What brought all this up? Why are you thinking about it now?"

"Sometimes…when I sleep…Zoe's memories come to the forefront. Tonight, I dreamed about when Lucy was here."

"You were there too."

"It was murky. It wasn't until I was talking about your weaknesses in front of the sun that it was all me. Up until then Zoe was still here. She was the one in control as you comforted Lucy. Asked her to stay with you."

"That was before you gave me back the sun. I was a different man then."

"It wasn't even five minutes before I called you out," Agatha replied in an incredulous voice.

Dracula laughed at her outburst. "Five minutes is more than enough time to change one's entire outlook on life." His smile became gentler. "And you did so much more than that for me."

"To be honest that wasn't my intention when I did it."

"I know. But I'd like to think things turned out better than you planned."

"They did," Agatha nodded. "Except for the dreams."

Dracula gave a nod of his own. "Right. Would you like me to give you better ones?" He could see the hesitation in her eyes. Agatha hated looking weak. "Come on. Let me spoil you. Just this once."

"You always spoil me."

"There's worse things," he smiled.

"All right. Just this once. But I want you to take me somewhere you've never taken anyone else. Some place for just the two of us."

"As you wish," he replied. "Close your eyes. It works better that way."

Agatha settled comfortably. But before he could sink his teeth in, her eyes shot open. "This won't hurt you, will it?"

"Why should it?" he shrugged. "It's already my blood. Think of it as recycling."

"If you say so."

"Sunshine, stop stalling and close your eyes." Agatha shut her eyes and relaxed herself as she felt his fangs pierce her neck. For a moment it felt like she was floating. Then he called out to her. "Open your eyes, my sun. We're here."

Agatha did as he asked, blinking in the bright sunlight they were surrounded by. It took her a moment to realize where she was. "This is St. Mary's Covent," she said. Her eyes dropped down as she felt a breeze ruffled what felt like a skirt around her legs. Agatha realized she was in a yellow sundress. But looking back up, she saw no sign of her lover. She turned around to see him smiling on the other side of the iron gates, dressed very much like he had been in her dream on the Demeter. Black vest, white shirt and black pants. "This is where we first met."

"It is," he nodded. "You wanted somewhere special. This is just for the two of us, sunshine."

"But why here?" she frowned.

"When you were talking, I realized how important this place is to your history. And I don't know anything about it. I was hoping you could tell me. Walk me through it, as it were."

"You want that?" Agatha asked softly.

"Of course, I want that. I want to know everything about you. Everything about your life. It's all fascinating to me."

Agatha realized the symbolism of him standing at the gates just like he had when they first met. Her next words would be important. She could invite him in using the words that kept him out before. Or just gesture. As Mina had gestured to her fiancé inviting him into the circle of bread because she loved him so much. But that wasn't them. "Well then are you going to come in or what?" she demanded. "We have a lot of ground to cover."

"Quite right, my sun," he laughed. He darted inside the doors as she turned away and hurried to catch up and grab her hand. There so much to see. He wanted to savor all of it with her.


End file.
